Don't Ignore It, This Is The Body's Reaction When Blood Pressure Rises

JAKARTA - High blood pressure or hypertension is often dubbed a silent killer, because it does not show symptoms. But that doesn't mean the body doesn't give any signal at all. Under certain conditions, the body can respond to increased blood pressure with various symptoms, ranging from headaches to visual impairments.

"I don't want people to wait until symptoms appear," said Dr. Baback Adibi, a cardiologist from Hackensack Meridian Health in Teaneck, New Jersey, quoted from the Hackensack Meridian Health page.

According to him, hypertension symptoms often appear when these conditions have been going on for a long time or blood pressure has spiked dramatically. Even though it doesn't always happen, here are some symptoms that can be a sign that blood pressure is on the rise.

1. Headache

Headaches are one of the symptoms that can be felt when blood pressure spikes.

"If their blood pressure spikes, one way they can feel it is through headaches," explained Dr. Adibi.

For example, when a person deviates from a healthy diet and consumes a high-salt food, a spike in blood pressure can trigger headaches. Fortunately, these symptoms usually subside after blood pressure returns to normal.

2. Chest pain

The sudden increase in blood pressure can also put excessive pressure on the heart and trigger chest pain.

"Patients can feel like they have a sitting wind or chest pain, if their blood pressure is very high," said Dr. Adibi.

According to him, this condition can be caused by various things that trigger blood pressure to rise rapidly, such as stress or anger. If chest pain is severe or accompanied by other symptoms, it is important to immediately seek medical assistance, because it is similar to a heart attack.

3. Change of vision

Although it rarely occurs suddenly, uncontrolled high blood pressure in the long term can damage small blood vessels in the eyes. This causes visual impairment.

"Every change in sight, such as blurred or dark vision, can be caused by uncontrolled high blood pressure," said Dr. Adibi.

If blood pressure returns to the normal range, there is a possibility that the vision function could also improve.

During routine medical examinations, doctors usually measure blood pressure using tensimere glasses.

"Blood pressure is one of the vital signs, along with body temperature, pulse, and respiratory rate," explained Dr. Adibi.

Blood pressure consists of two numbers, namely the systolic (upper figure) and diastolic (low figure). Both show how much pressure is in the arteries when the heart beats and breaks.

Blood pressure categories according to numbers:

- Normal: systolic <120 mm Hg, diastolic <80 mm Hg

- Elevated: systolic 120129 mm Hg, diastolic <80 mm Hg

- Phase 1: systolic 130139 mm Hg, diastolic 8089 mm Hg

- Phase 2: systolic 140 mm Hg, diastolic 90 mm Hg

Several things that can trigger a spike in blood pressure include consumption of high-salt foods, forgetting to take medication, stress, or pain.

How To Manage Blood Pressure

Changes in lifestyle and treatment are the two main ways in managing hypertension. Unfortunately, not everyone wants to take medication right away.

"If every time blood pressure rises you lose sight, you will definitely want to take medicine. But if you don't feel anything, it's difficult to make someone obedient to taking medicine," said Dr. Adibi.

Several steps that can help keep blood pressure normal:

- Reduce salt consumption and increase healthy foods

- Exercise at least 150 minutes per week

- Lose weight if necessary

"There were people who initially took blood pressure medication, then after they lost weight, they could stop taking medication." added Dr. Adibi.